Diversion
by Welpie
Summary: Diversion:an alteration,(the act of) diverting attention,(an) amusement. One small diversion led to a huge change. Ayaka swore to protect the happiness she had left.
**A/N= _Considering chapter summaries like ao3 aren't a thing here(and they are actually relevant to the plot here) I will put them in bold and underlined at the top of every chapter. (Yes my oa3 acc goes by the same username in case you were wondering.)_**

 **I actually began writing this a while ago, but I polished it a little and decided to post it! (I hope my writing style between the old and newly written parts won't differ too much) I am trying to fix and finish the second chapter. I want to make it believable and consistent~**

 **When I originally started typing this chapter Summertime record started playing... Writing Ayaka is actually hard. I hope she's IC, because she didn't have much canon screentime. Let me know if I can improve something or if you notice a mistake. Have fun reading!**

* * *

 **This... I didn't expect this. Oh my. Such a shock~ What shall I do?**

 **...**

 **Who am I kidding. I don't mind this diversion at all.**

 **I wonder what this timeline has in store.**

* * *

 _'Welcome to the Heat Haze' a voice had echoed in their minds._

The Haze. It was a rather curious concept. It would be hard to believe for those who hadn't experienced it themselves. Despite seeing it with her own brown eyes she thought it was rather… unreal.

Her grip on Kenjirou's hand tightened.

The Haze. She had researched it ever since she adopted Tsubomi, Kousuke and Shuuya. Ever since she saw the eyes of the sweethearts she knew it had to do with the story she heard as a child. The story of the Medusa who created her own world.

Ayaka's brown eyes locked with Kenjirou's.

The Haze. The research she had done with her husband uncovered some interesting facts. The Medusa from the story her world had been the same as the haze. It seemed that for some reason that whoever died on August 15th got swallowed in the 'Haze' and possessed by a snake. That allowed Tsubomi, Kousuke and Shuuya to live. However, to Ayaka it seemed like the snake tempted the Medusa and she never got a happy ending. It worried Ayaka.

The boulders crushing them both was a far too fresh and horrifying memory.

They died, didn't they? Just a moment ago they were walking and talking and looking at their notes. Nothing seemed wrong. Before they knew what was going on they were in another area. Apparently it was the Haze, but it looked like a classroom. The classroom was very familiar. It was the place she met Kenjirou.

"Shall we explore, Ayaka?" Kenjirou spoke. He gave her a reassuring smile.

Of course Kenjirou would try to stay calm, but she saw he was just as shaken as she was. The slight rise in the tone of his voice and the shaking of his hand didn't go unnoticed. She squeezed his hand.

It was hard to believe that they had been covered in blood just a minute ago. Kenjirou had tried to protect her frail body against the boulders. Why had they been caught in a landslide? Why them?

No. She couldn't think about that. She had to stay strong. It would work out somehow.

"Sure," she replied.

They walked around in the classroom, but there was nothing in there. The desks were empty. There wasn't even a whiteboard marker. Ayaka had no idea why the 'haze' was a classroom in the first place. (The memories this place reminded her of were too many.)

"Let's leave this place, Kenjirou," she whispered. This place was creeping her out. She loved bones and the like, but this haze was something entirely different. Heck, she'd rather be trapped in a cave. At least she would know what to do in that case. She frowned in frustration.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

She didn't reply.

He embraced her for a moment. His scent calmed her visibly down. She asked herself mentally why she had been worried. As long as they were together they would find a way to escape safely.

"I'm fine now," she purred while she looked up. He gave her a grin.

"Great." He quietly led her towards the door of the classroom. He put his hand on the doorknob. "Stay here, I'll check if it's safe."

Ayaka felt her curiosity and worry surfacing. She really wanted to let him check, but she wanted to confirm it with her own eyes. She didn't want to be useless. She didn't want Kenjirou to get hurt too. She shook her head.

"No, I want to check it," she said with determination in her brown eyes. (A quiet voice in the back of her head told her she wasn't supposed to feel like this and something wasn't right.)

His usual goofy expression was replaced with a frown. She saw the hesitation in his eyes while he looked at her. After a moment had passed he finally noticed her gaze. He blinked quickly and raised one eyebrow at her. He looked like he wanted to push up his glasses. He was unable to, because both of his hands were occupied.

"Please, let me go first," she repeated.

He opened his mouth to answer, but he quickly closed it without saying anything. His eyes nervously darted around and he heaved a sigh. At last he nodded.

"I can't argue with your stubbornness," he joked. She punched him lightly on the shoulder. They both smiled.

"I'll go after you then," he continued as he let the doorknob go. "I promise to protect you, no matter what happens."

Ayaka felt very touched by his remark. Almost the woman wanted to hide under his lab coat and be protected from the outside world. Instead of running in his arms she put her hand on the doorknob. She pushed it down and let Kenjirou's hand go.

She was one step away from entering the door. The woman took a deep breath, but two hands were on her shoulder. The hands slid down and she was embraced in a warm hug. The hug was brief, but it felt like a goodbye. Ayaka didn't like the thought of that. She heard rustling and soon after she felt the fabric of a coat on her. She looked down and saw he had put his coat on her. It made her smile.

"Wear my lab coat for now. It'll protect you. See you soon Ayaka," he murmured in her ear. "I love you."

"I love you too, Kenjirou," she answered and she barely managed to hold her tears back. He was being so sweet and she almost wanted to let him go first. Whatever happened she had to stay strong. It was going to be all right, she thought.

She inhaled the muffled air of the classroom and stepped through the door. While she stepped through it a bright light blinded her vision and the flash made her head spin. It hurt.

The pain filled her head, but she had to open her eyes. Her eyes slowly opened and light began to fill her vision. The cold air played with her brown locks while she looked around. She recognized this place. The muddy road the car wasn't able to ride on. The boulders which hit them were scattered on the road. Her body which was supposed to be there wasn't there. Neither was Kenjirou's. She was thankful the blood was gone.

She turned around.

"Hey, Kenjirou! It's safe! We're back!" she yelled out. She waved to get his attention, but there was nobody behind her.

She froze. "Kenjirou…?"

 _'Kenjirou isn't here,' a voice hissed._

"What? Where is he? Who are you?" she mumbled. A voice in her head. That could only mean one thing. Either she was hallucinating or... She pronounced the next words carefully. "Am I going insane?"

 _'I said he isn't here. He's in the haze. Me? Just the only thing keeping you alive. Probably,' the voice rapidly answered._

She moved her body around. Anything to search for a clue. To be able to deny the strange voice. She needed to search for a sign of life. Something caught her foot. It resulted in her body falling over. She barely managed to soften the fall by reaching out her hands. The moment her hands hit the concrete something inside of her snapped. In this reality... Kenjirou had died.

"No…" She let herself fall on her knees. Her tears began to spill. "He'll come back, right? He said he'll come… he promised to…" Her tears blurred her vision and her sobbing drowned out her own voice.

 _'There is a way to let him return,' the voice said._

"T-there is?" she asked.

 _'We can make a deal. You get to make a wish and I do my thing to make it come true. Win-win situation,' the voice proposed._

What the voice was telling her seemed familiar to her. She had heard of this before.

Suddenly she remembered where she heard the tone of the voice. It went this way in the book in the end. The voice speaking to her now was trying to tempt her. Just like the Medusa from the story had been tempted by the voice to be forever with her family. It was most likely the voice was the snake from the story.

With that information Ayaka tried to think. Her kids hadn't mentioned much, but it all made sense now. The reason why Tsubomi, Shuuya and Kousuke were all alone. Only one could get out the 'Haze'.

But what would she do? She kept thinking while she stared at the ground. Her tears were clouding her vision. She missed her husband so much.

She needed to get home first. She couldn't judge in her current state. Her own desire to get Kenjirou back was too much to handle the situation properly. Her family would be torn apart just like the Medusa in the story did. It had been against her own will as well. Unintentional. A mistake.

 _'Fine. You can take your time, but remember: the longer you take the lesser the chance of getting Kenjirou out becomes,' the snake commented._

So the voice was able to hear her thoughts. She swore she heard a little bit annoyance in his voice. The way the snake spoke was cautious and calculating. Hearing the thoughts of the snake would've been a nice bonus, but only the snake seemed to have some privacy regarding thoughts. Yet she felt something was a off with the snake. She had thought he would've forced his ideals on her by now. It was like he wasn't used to a resisting _female_ host. It felt like his previous host used to agree immediately.

 _'You're sharp, but I'm afraid I can't say anything about that for now.'_

Of course he wouldn't give her any insight in his thoughts. This both scared and frustrated Ayaka. If she wasn't crying at the moment she would've given the snake a piece of her mind. As dangerous as it seemed, Ayaka didn't want to be bossed around by some voice of a snake she was unable to see.

Ayaka lifted her head and brought her hands up to her eyes. She wiped away the tears on her face. As hopeless as the situation was there was still some hope. At least she knew she wasn't going insane. Having a voice to talk to must have some advantages, right? Even though she knew that the cons outweighed the pros.

The woman shook her head and pushed herself up. Her legs felt unsteady and she thought she lost control of them for a split-second. Inhaling a breath of air, she slowly set one step. Left. Right. Left. Right. In her head she tried to remember how to walk properly. Left. Right. Left. Good, her legs were listening to her again.

"Kenjirou…" she mumbled to herself while she continued strutting towards her destination. Her destination was their home, but she wasn't even sure if she was actually heading in the right direction. It didn't matter to her at the moment. One goal was in her mind: getting away from this dreaded place. Left. Right. Left.

The shade of a tree covered half of her body. Because of the cold she wrapped her arms around herself. The familiar scent of the lab coat kept her sane at the moment. Strangely she felt nothing from one side of her body. It didn't concern her much at that moment. Her lifeless eyes stared at the road before her. Her pace quickened. Right. Left. Right.

If she had seen her own reflection in the puddle she would've reacted differently. One of her eyes happened to be flashing a menacing red at that exact moment.

 _'This is going to be interesting.'_


End file.
